NEW YORK--Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance unit, was killed on Wednesday morning outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in what police described as a targeted attack by a gunman lying in wait for him.
Thompson, 50, was shot around 6:45 a.m. ET outside the Hilton on Sixth Avenue, just before the company's annual investor conference. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said the gunman was at large and they were still investigating a motive. "This does not appear to be a random act of violence," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference. "Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack." The suspect, wearing a mask and carrying a gray backpack, fled on foot before mounting an electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said. The killing took place just hours before the city's annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center a few blocks away, a televised event that draws massive crowds. Police officials said that event would proceed as planned under heavy security.
Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News that he had received some threats, though she did not know any specifics. "Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage?" she said, appearing to allude to a potential insurance-related motive, according to the network. "I don't know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him." UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of Americans, who pay more for healthcare than people in any other country. Thompson had been the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group, since April 2021. The company has been grappling with the fallout from a massive data hack of its Change Healthcare unit that provides technology for U.S. health providers, disrupting medical care for patients and reimbursement to doctors for months.
The gunman arrived outside the Hilton about five minutes before Thompson, and he ignored other people walking by. He then shot Thompson in the back when he passed, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters. "It does appear that the victim was specifically targeted, but at this point we do not know why," Kenny said. The pistol appeared to be fitted with a silencer, according to surveillance video, although Kenny said use of a silencer could not be verified from the images. At about 9 a.m. ET, an hour after UnitedHealth's conference started, Chief Executive Andrew Witty took the stage and announced the programme was cancelled because of a "very serious medical situation."
Baird investment analyst Michael Ha, who attended the UnitedHealth event, said people were frightened, confused and crying in the hotel hallway. "At the time, we did not know what had happened, when it had happened, where it had happened. So we didn't even know if there was a potentially a shooter in the actual building itself," he said. The company later removed photos of its leaders from its website. Thompson had worked at UnitedHealth since 2004 in several divisions, according to a biography later removed from the company's website. "Our hearts go out to Brian's family and all who were close to him," the company said in a statement.
